If you’re looking for an easy, delicious and healthy dinner, this salmon in parchment paper is the perfect recipe. The salmon is cooked in a parchment paper pouch creating an almost mess free dinner that’s not only easy, but yummy! Best part? It’s ready in just about thirty minutes. Just mix up a handful of pantry staples, pour over top, fold up the parchment paper, and bake. Every bite is sweet and savory!
We’ve been looking for ways to reduce our calories and eat healthier. In this recipe, you’ll notice Liquid Aminos and may be asking yourself, what is that?
Liquid Aminos look and taste similar to soy sauce. It is made by fermenting coconut sap with salt and water or treating soybeans with an acidic solution to break them down into free amino acids. It adds a savory, salty flavor to meals and is naturally vegan and gluten-free. You can find it at most grocery stores. Can’t find Liquid Aminos, you can use Soy sauce.
So here’s the story behind the parchment paper. I wanted to make an easy clean up dish- it’s been a crazy week. So I thought I’d make salmon in a foil packet. I opened my pantry and to my surprise… No foil! I’ve been reading about French cuisine and I remember reading about Salmon en Papillote, which translates to Salmon enveloped in paper! I had plenty of parchment paper and so this recipe was born!
By cooking the salmon in a parchment paper packet, you’re creating an envelope for your food to cook inside of. Not only does this save on mess and dishes, but cooking your food in parchment steams the food and cooks everything in their own juices. Cooking food this way preserves nutrients and creates an insane amount of flavor because all of the aromas are trapped inside. You can add vegetables into the packet with the salmon. I served mine with side salad.
How to make the parchment paper packet?
- Creating the packet isn’t difficult, but it requires a particular shape and folding technique.
- Fold a 12-by-16-inch piece of parchment in half, then cut it so that it’ll be shaped like a heart when you unfold it.
- Cut a 12-by16-inch piece of parchment paper for each piece of salmon you’re cooking and fold it in half. Using scissors, cut the folded paper into half of a heart, then unfold.
- Brush both sides of the paper lightly with olive oil.
- Place your salmon to one side of the creased line down the middle of the heart. Pour the sauce over the salmon.
- Fold the other half of the heart over the salmon. Starting at the pointy end—the bottom of the heart—fold the edge of the parchment paper in small, overlapping triangles. This helps create a tight seal, making sure that the salmon will cook in its own juices and not dry out or lose flavor.
- And that’s it! Just transfer each packet to a dinner plate, cut a small opening in the paper, pull apart the packet and devour the contents. You’ll barely even need to wash the plates.
Looking for a wine?
Scout & Cellar Hushkeeper Pinot Gris is the perfect pairing! Zippy-yet-balanced with lemon, pear, and underripe pineapple on a medium-bodied frame with a bright finish. For this Pinot Gris, grapes were picked by hand from dry-farmed vines planted over 30 years ago. After harvest, the grapes were pressed and placed in stainless steel vessels where they fermented for 3 weeks. The wine then aged in stainless steel until bottling, unfined and lightly filtered with natural bentonite clay.
Now that you know all the whys and hows, let’s get cooking!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pound salmon
- 1/4 cup Lite Maple syrup (yes the kind for pancakes)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons Liquid Aminos (or reduced sodium soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, optional
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Parchment paper
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with foil.
In a small bowl, whisk together honey, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, Sriracha and pepper, to taste.
Take two pieces of parchment paper, fold in half, and cut a half-circle starting at each crease. They should look similar to a heart-shape when unfolded.
Brush each piece of parchment with olive oil on both sides.
Place the one piece of salmon in the middle of one side of a prepared parchment paper.
Pour the ginger syrup mixture over the salmon. Save the rest of the sauce for serving.
Fold the other half of the circle over and seal the parchment edge by making overlapping folds around the edge. At the end, fold the last crease in the opposite direction of the rest to ensure it seals.
Repeat with the second piece of prepared parchment and remaining ingredients.
Place pouches on a baking sheet.
Place into the oven and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.(Baking time may need to be adjusted depending on the thickness of the salmon).
Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before cutting open parchment.
The salmon is done when it flakes easily with a fork.
Drizzle the salmon with the leftover sauce.
Serve immediately.
Whisk Away Kitchen 